JAPAN: POLITICS - Official campaigning kicks off for an election that could oust Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling party

Record ID: 345169

  • Title: JAPAN: POLITICS - Official campaigning kicks off for an election that could oust Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling party
  • Date: 19th August 2009
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT JAPANESE NATIONAL FLAG TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 18, 2009) (REUTERS) ELECTION VAN AND SPECTATORS GATHERED AROUND ELECTION VAN WITH TARO ASO, JAPAN PRIME MINISTER, ON TOP SPECTATORS WATCHING SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TARO ASO, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT OF RULING LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, SAYING "Please give me the chance to fight in this election. The LDP is who can protect Japan. The LDP is who can defend your standard of living. I will personally give my all, so for Japan, I ask for your support."
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADCWC42SS4HT1CG3NY92XM4JO
  • Story Text: Voters in Japan swarmed to rallies in the summer heat on Tuesday (August 18) as official campaigning kicked off for an election that is likely to see Prime Minister Taro Aso's party ousted for only the second time in its 54-year history.
    "Please give me the chance to fight in this election. The LDP is who can protect Japan. The LDP is who can defend your standard of living. I will personally give my all, so for Japan, I ask for your support," Aso told a crowd in front of a train station in western Tokyo.
    Polls show Aso's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headed for a loss in the August 30 vote, which would usher in a government led by the opposition Democratic Party and raise the chances of breaking a policy deadlock in a divided parliament.
    The Democrats have pledged to revive the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, hold off on raising the 5 percent sales tax for the next four years and adopt a diplomatic stance that is less subservient to top security ally, the United States.
    "With your support, we will replace the LDP's cold-blooded politics with a new politics, a warm-hearted politics. Please give us power to make this change happen," said Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the opposition DPJ and the next prime minister if his party wins the election. His supporters in the crowd clapped and cheered, as many wore hats, held towels and parasols to beat the sweltering heat.
    Financial markets would welcome the prospect of smoother policy-making as Japan shakes off a recession, although some analysts say the Democrats' ambitious plans could inflate already high public debt and push up long-term interest rates.
    Facing a crowd of hundreds in the western city of Osaka, Japan's second-biggest metropolis, Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama accused the LDP of ignoring the interests of ordinary voters and said it was time for change.
    The decade-old Democrats have their best-ever shot at seizing power from the LDP, which has ruled for all but about 10 months since its start in 1955 and is struggling with new challenges such as a fast-ageing population and China's rising clout.
    Data on Monday (August 17) showing Japan's economy returned to growth in the second quarter will probably do little to revive the LDP's fortunes, analysts said, even though the figures marked the end of the country's longest recession since World War Two.
    Aso, the 68-year-old grandson of a prime minister and known as a fan of "manga" comics popular with youth, took office last September in the hope of leading the LDP to victory, but voter support has slid after a string of policy flip-flops, verbal gaffes and scandals in his cabinet.
    To woo back voters, Aso is crediting the LDP's economic stimulus packages with helping Japan weather the global financial crisis and has accused the Democrats of being weak on security policy and irresponsible on finances.
    But even before Aso, voters' anger with the LDP had been on the boil after two predecessors quit abruptly after just a year each and the government was found to have mishandled millions of public pension records, upsetting the elderly in particular.
    "I think the voter turnout will be high this time because this is an election that could change the regime and affect everybody's lives," said 57-year-old Tokyo resident Hideo Yamada.
    Some voters, however, wondered if the novice Democrats, a mix of former LDP members, ex-socialists and younger conservatives, would fare any better in delivering policies.
    "I haven't decided which party to vote for because none of the opposition parties seems attractive enough. What we need is a hero," said 56-year-old Tokyo resident Misako Ishizaki.
    The Democrats want to distribute allowances for families with children, eliminate highway tolls and end a gasoline surcharge, but critics say the party is fuzzy on how it will fund these steps.
    Observers say that this election is likely to be a significant one for Japan in recent history.
    "This is a very significant day in Japanese politics. If you consider the Liberal Democratic Party, the LDP, has been in power essentially over 50 years from 1955 to the present. to face an election in just about 12 days or so in which the LDP could be ushered out of power, the Japanese voting public has the choice - a very clear choice this time - really for the first time in over half a century," David Satterwhite, a political analyst and executive director of Fulbright Japan.
    While the party also wants to reduce bureaucrats' meddling in policies to cut wasteful spending, it needs to tap their expertise to form legislation.
    On foreign policy, the Democrats had pledged to stand up to Washington but have shifted to a more pragmatic line ahead of the election.
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